As the depths of winter hold fast, Candlemas offers a moment to pause—halfway between the solstice and the spring equinox. The days begin to stretch just a little longer, and we’re reminded that the light always returns.

For those who live by the seasons and honor the old ways, this is a sacred threshold—a time to rekindle warmth, reflect on what has passed, and set gentle intentions for what remains.

Let’s prepare for Candlemas the quiet way: with beeswax and firewood, with care and craft, with firelight and faith.

Crafting Candles by Hand

Making your own candles isn’t just an act of frugality or fun, it’s an invitation to slow down and fill your space with intentional warmth. Beeswax, with its sweet scent and golden hue, has been a sacred tool in wintertime rituals for centuries.

You can create your own simple tapers with:

• Beeswax sheets – perfect for rolling candles without melting
• Tin taper molds – for those who want to pour and shape with tradition

Display your handmade candles with beauty and weight on wrought iron candle holders: symbols of strength, rootedness, and simple elegance.

Firewood as Ritual

Chopping wood, stacking it just so, setting kindling. These are not chores, but rituals.

Keep a dedicated basket or bin for your firewood. Light your hearth with intention on Candlemas Eve. As you feed the flame, speak aloud or silently the things you wish to warm, heal, and nurture in the second half of winter.

You don’t need to burn last year’s burdens in a dramatic blaze. Just tending your fire with reverence is enough.

Intention-Setting for the Remainder of Winter

Where New Year’s often shouts of resolutions, Candlemas whispers: continue.
It’s not a time to sprint forward. It’s a gentle checkpoint.

Use this day to ask:

• What do I want to carry through to spring?
• What am I quietly tending?
• What stillness do I need before the thaw?

You might write your intentions on small slips of paper, tuck them near your hearth, or set them under your candle holders as the wax melts, melting resistance, warming resolve.

Keeping the Light

Candlemas is not just about the flame on the wick, but the flame in you.

In this midpoint between winter and spring, you are the keeper of the light.
Not through hustle. Through presence. Through care. Through warmth.

So roll the beeswax, strike the match, and sit with the flame.
Spring will come. But for now, let there be light: handmade, heartfelt, and holy.

— Jenny